Subhash Tomar's death case: 2 accused take alibi plea, say they were in a train

A Delhi court took note of the plea of two brothers, accused with six others in the case of death of a constable deployed during the protests in Delhi against the gang-rape incident.

Reuters

A Delhi court on Wednesday took note of the plea of two brothers, accused with six others in the case of death of a constable deployed during the protests in Delhi against the gang-rape incident, that they were in a metro train during occurrence of the alleged incident.

Metropolitan Magistrate Navita Kumari sought replies of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and Delhi police by Thursday on pleas of Kailash Joshi and Amit Joshi that CCTV footages of Rithala and Rajiv Chowk Metro stations of December 23, when the violent protests took place in and around India Gate in Delhi, be preserved.

"Issue notice to the SHO and the DMRC for December 27," the court said.

"I have one request. Two of the accused were travelling in the metro when the incident (protest) happened. Its footage has to be preserved as it is an important evidence," Somnath Bharti, counsel for the accused, said.

Besides the two brothers, six others — Nafees, Shankar Bisht, Nand Kumar, Shantanu Kumar, Abhishek and Chaman Kumar — have been made accused for allegedly taking part in protests which later turned violent and in which constable Subash Chand Tomar got injured.

All the accused were granted bail on December 24.

Tomar, however, died later and consequently, accused have been booked under section 302 (murder) of the IPC, said police, which has now handed over the probe to its crime branch.

The mass protest at India Gate, against the gangrape of a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus in Delhi, had turned violent on December 23 in which the constable had allegedly received injuries.

Police had claimed that hooligans had taken over the peaceful protest and violence erupted at India Gate in which 78 policemen and 65 protesters were injured. Various PCR vans and DTC buses were also damaged by the violent protesters.